Sooshi Mango performed their comic sketches at St Agatha’s Auditorium in Rabat on Friday and Saturday. The Australian trio, known for parodies and sketches of their Italian immigrant elders in Australia, also visited several sites and filmed themselves eating Maltese pastizzi and Kinnie.
They had earlier discussed Maltese pastizzi on their podcast with Australian-Maltese chef Shane Delia. While eating pastizzi in Malta, one of the members compared the taste to Greek spanakopita.
Their shows were a success, with attendees saying they enjoyed the performance and the sketches that reminded them of family life in Malta. The Home Made World Tour dates marked the group’s Malta debut and the opening stop of the final European leg of the tour. Three performances were staged at the Rabat auditorium: one at 8pm on Friday 2 October, and two on Saturday 3 October, at 4pm and 8pm.
Organisers had added shows after strong early demand, and ticket sales later closed with the run reported as close to sold out.
On stage, Joe Salanitri, Carlo Salanitri and Andrew Manfre drew on the characters and family stories that built their following online, mixing impressions, exaggerated relatives and everyday household chaos. For a Maltese audience with its own strong tradition of extended family and Mediterranean habits, much of the material landed close to home, even when the accents and the kitchen arguments were distinctly Italian-Australian.
Off stage, the visit doubled as a food tour and as expected, they filmed themselves with pastizzi and the bitter-orange soft drink Kinnie. Pastizzi reminded them of Greek spanakopita which is very similar but usually filled with different ingredients such as spinach.
The Rabat shows also sit against a long Maltese-Australian connection. Generations of Maltese families settled in Australia, and Shane Delia’s appearance on their podcast had already given that link a public airing months before the tour reached the island. Fans who turned out at St Agatha’s Auditorium were watching a version of the same family comedy they recognise from their own tables, only with a different passport and a louder nonna.
With the Malta dates done, the Home Made World Tour continues through the rest of Europe. The trio have said these are the final shows of this production before a new one is prepared for Australia.
Photos source here.
Newsroom
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